Rise of the Triad (2013) Review

Introduction:

Video games have changed a lot over the past twenty years, as more powerful computers could run more powerful engines and new ideas could be explored. As much as games have changed though, in some ways they have stayed the same, as gamers and developers fondly remember those titles from the past. Sometimes the developers just take inspiration from the classic games, but other times they just rebuild the game, taking full advantage of modern hardware. Such is the case with Interceptor Entertainment, as it has rebuilt Rise of the Triad in Unreal Engine 3.

Originally released in 1994, Rise of the Triad is a first-person shooter with about as much violence and gore as you could get back then. Because of how young I was at the time, I should not have even known it existed, but then I have an older brother who is interested in video games, so I got some game time in. After all these years though, I do not remember the gameplay much, but I do remember the ridiculous weapons. Don't want to spoil them here; you will have to check out the gameplay section for that.

If you are someone who should not be looking at gore, or simply prefers not to see it, you probably do not want to look at a number of the screenshots in this review. I play with the gore turned on.

Thanks to the passion of the developers, and continual interest from the community, Rise of the Triad has been reborn, with a near exact reproduction in UE3. Is this blast from the past a critical hit, or just another modern FPS to blend in with the others? Read on to find out.